After leaving Art college where he studied Fine Art photography Manning joined Models One where he worked with photographer Bruce Weber on an
Abercrombie & Fitch campaign. He also worked on many commercials including "
Pepsi" directed by
Michael Bay. Manning started his acting career in an
ITV soap opera
Night and Day playing Sam Armstrong. Manning won the 2002
British Soap Awards "Hero of the Year" award for that role. He played Mark Thompson in an episode of
Holby City before joining the cast of
Hollyoaks in 2004. After five years of playing the role of Russell Owen, Manning decided to quit the show. He left the series in a storyline that saw him kidnap his baby son Max and leave for France. He appeared as a contestant on the ninth series of ''
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' in 2009. He finished overall in fifth place on the show. Manning appeared in the UK tour of
A Passionate Woman alongside
Kaye Mellor and
Anthony Lewis in 2011. In 2014, he appeared in an episode of
Doctors as Paul Carter, and in 2015, he also appeared in
The Dumping Ground as Matt Branston and
Casualty as Clyde Jackson, in the last of a trio of special
Casualty "
Noir" episodes. In 2014, Manning was cast to play the role of Robin in
Spencer Hawken's 2016 film
No Reasons. In 2017, he appeared as Nik Voyle in the first episode of the school drama series
Ackley Bridge and reprised his role of Nik again in series two in 2018. In 2018, it was confirmed he would return to the role of Russ Owen in
Hollyoaks after an absence of 9 years, returning to the show in August. Manning departed the show again in November 2018 when Russ was killed off. ==Filmography==